


Refugee

by Anjeval



Category: Invader Zim
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Road Trip, Developing Friendships, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Friendship, Gir saw a moose, M/M, Multi, Red and Purple are demoted, Road Trips, Romantic Friendship, Spork is still dead tho, Tallest Miyuki lived and is fucking PISSED, ZADR but it's just fluff, Zim and Dib go paranormal investigating across the country in an RV
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-21
Updated: 2020-01-09
Packaged: 2021-02-18 11:14:19
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,619
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21510136
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Anjeval/pseuds/Anjeval
Summary: Irkens are an unyielding race. They do not tolerate flaws that could hinder their quest for total domination. Culling weaknesses such as incompetence, disloyalty, and empathy. To defy their leaders would be writing their own demise, but there are still the brave few who either choose this path or are thrust upon it... Cast out from the Irken Empire for being proclaimed a traitor to his kind, Zim flees to the furthest reaches of the galaxy and, he hopes, a new start.
Relationships: Almighty Tallest Purple/Almighty Tallest Red, Dib & Zim (Invader Zim), Dib/Zim (Invader Zim)
Comments: 5
Kudos: 72





	1. Moose-y Fate

**Author's Note:**

> This is a continuation of my Refugee AU comic I drew (https://anjevalart.tumblr.com/post/188687351169). This is also my first time writing any kind of fanfic (or anything that wasn't a school essay lol) so I hope you like it! Also please leave a comment, I'd love to know what you all think of it so far owo
> 
> Also I sketched a mock title card of sorts here: https://anjevalart.tumblr.com/post/189197535955

A streak of light tore through the cold night sky. Those none the wiser would think it were a shooting star. But rather than burning up in the atmosphere, it continued to fall, landing with a loud crash in a dense forest. It was miles from the nearest man-made building but only a fraction of a mile from the nearest man-made RV. The driver of the RV nearly careened off the side of the slick, icy road as he watched the wad of metal and fire land well within walking distance. Of course he was no stranger to the paranormal, so after quickly parking the trailer between a few trees, he grabbed his video camera, fumbled down the short steps, and ran in the direction of the crash site.

\---

_Running diagnostics… Diagnostics complete. Crash landing successful. Hull integrity at 21%. Interstellar flight boosters non-functional. Non-interstellar flight boosters only slightly functional- wait nevermind they’re broken too. Navigation functional. Location: the middle of nowhere, possibly a forest._

Inside the talking spacecraft, a short green alien rubs his forehead, trying to make sense of what happened. “Computer... run diagnostics, where are we?”

_I… I literally just ran them…_

“Oh… well then, how long will it take to repair the cruiser?”

_With this planet’s current technology, very long. Very VERY long._

“I see.” Zim looks around at the snow-covered trees through the shattered glass of the front shield then behind him at a small gray robot, seemingly unresponsive. He sighs and picks it up by the arm then starts shaking it vigorously back and forth. “GIR, WAKE UP.”

The robot jolts awake, his glowing eyes filling the cockpit with a cool blue glow, “Happy birthday!”

Relieved that he survived the crash, Zim places him back on the floor. “GIR, scan the surrounding area for any signs of intelligent life then report back here ASAP.”

GIR smiles and salutes, then clambers through the broken shield and disappears into the trees, leaving adorable round footprints in the snow. Zim curls up and blows warm air onto his gloved hands, _the temperature controls must be broken too_ , he thought, _stupid broken ship_. As he tries to warm up, he slowly realizes this might be the planet he dies on, a traitor to his kind, a refugee on a freezing, nowhere planet, with no way of ever returning to a normal life as an invader. He scrunches up his face and slams a balled up fist against the wall of the ship.

_Hull integrity 20%_

\---

A minute later, GIR returns to the ship and rolls onto the floor, trailing in mud and snow. Zim, eager to hear GIR’s report, scuttles over to him. “Quickly GIR, what did you learn.”

“I saw a moose! It was thiiiiiiis tall!” GIR stretches out his arms as far as they would go, which was no more than his height.

“Hmm, perhaps this is merely a secluded area away from civilization. No matter, we shall gather our supplies and make haste towards the nearest city.” Zim turns away from GIR to yell at the roof of the cruiser. “Computer! Which way is the nearest city?”

_Rerouting… The nearest town is approximately 8.2 kilometers east of our current location. There is a road nearby that leads straight to it._

“Ah, so there is intelligent life, excellent! But we can’t just walk among them like this. If this planet has yet to establish interstellar communications, it could cause a panic, or worse!” Zim’s mind flashed with images of shadowy figures with knives and lasers leering down on him, strapped to an autopsy table. He waved the thoughts away as he directed his attention to securing a few more snacks for the road. “We will have to observe from a safe distance and craft a suitable disguise before we-”

Zim stopped short as he heard a loud scream nearby. He looked back behind him to see GIR was no longer in the ship. Thinking quickly, Zim grabbed a pair of welding goggles from the glove compartment and a spare shirt, draping it over his head to hide his antennae and as much of his face as he could. His gloves protected him from the glass of the window as he scrambled out of the ship with a broken pipe in his hand, ready to swing at anything, or anyone, that dare attack him.

“Show yourself, foul creature of the night! No one wields metallic hardware like ZIM!!!”

He hears a rustling to his right and winds up as he sees a small creature leap out of the nearby bushes. Covered in leaves and snow, Zim almost mistook GIR for a threat, then noticed he was holding a rectangular device with various buttons and a large lens on one side. “GIR, what is that? And what was that screaming?”

“I dunno! But that moose was real mad! It was all AAAAAHHH!!!” GIR giggles at his terrible impression before being knocked forward by a small rock, the video recorder slips from his arms and lands at Zim’s feet.

“Hey! Give that back!” The “moose” emerges from the same bushes, also covered in leaves and snow. Zim was startled by its height, rivaling even his former tallest, clearing Zim’s head by almost two feet. It wore a black cloak and it’s hair was rather short, save for the massive, jagged cowlick that began at its forehead and flowed through the air, seemingly defying gravity.

Dib picks up another rock and gets ready to throw it at Zim. “I’m warning you, give back my video recorder!”

Zim looks down at the device and snatches it, letting the pipe fall to the ground. “Uh, finders keepers!” He clutches the camera to his chest, realizing this could be his only bargaining chip. Perhaps he’d be able to “borrow” whatever mode of transportation this freakishly tall alien uses to get to the next town faster.

Dib sees Zim has no intention of giving his camera back easily, so he slowly sets the rock back on the ground. “Alright, look, I’m putting the rock down, see? So just hand me the camera-”

“How do I know you won’t pick up the rock again, huh??” Zim stretches out his arm and points at Dib accusingly, glaring as menacingly as he can through the tinted goggles.

At this point, GIR has gotten back up and looks to where Zim is pointing, then points along with him. “AAAAAAHHH IT’S THE MOOSE!!!” GIR runs up to Dib and hugs his leg. “I’m gonna call you Mary!”

Dib tries to catch himself as the weight of the robot makes him lose his balance on the icy ground. “Hey, get off me!”

Zim has no time to react as Dib falls forward and all three of them land in the snow with a loud thud.


	2. Deal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zim and Dib make a deal...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi y'all! Thanks for reading! I'm so happy you like what I have so far (even though it's hardly anything lol) Sorry it's taken so long to update, holidays made work way super busy and tiring but i finally found some good motivation (mostly seeing other ppl working on their own AUs) to finish up the last of this chapter!
> 
> Anyway, enjoy :D

Warmth. That was the first thing Zim felt as he slowly woke up. A welcoming warmth compared to the harsh cold of the forest. The forest…? _The moose!_ He bolted up and looked around. The trees were replaced by walls and a roof, and what replaced the snow covering his body was a thick blanket made of some kind of synthetic fur. Confused as to how he got there, he called out to GIR, but all that came out of his mouth was a weak, rasping exhale.

Zim reached for his throat but was met with some resistance. He looked down at his hands to find that they were tied together at the wrists with thin strips of plastic. _Hah! Foolish, flimsy restraints cannot contain the almighty Zim!_ He thought to himself as a laser extended from his PAK and easily cut through the zip ties. Zim threw off the blankets and wobbled over to the nearest door, was the ground always this shaky?

As Zim opened the door he heard someone call out to him and nearly fell out of the vehicle. “You idiot, the RV is still moving!” Dib slammed on the breaks, making Zim fall onto the stairs.

Once the RV was parked off the side of the road, Dib ran back to check on the stunned alien. He peeked over the railing divider to see Zim staring out the door. “Hey I thought I tied you up.” Zim stayed silent for a moment, staring out at the night sky, before turning around and climbing back onto the dinette booth. Dib kept an eye on him and closed the door, this time remembering to activate the child-proof lock.

Zim huddled deeper into the blanket as he assessed his current situation. He had no idea where he was, no directive, his ship was broken, and no longer had a place to call home. He was lost and scared… but at least he was far away from the empire’s influence.

Dib stepped over to the opposite side of the table and sat down. He’d never been able to get even a few meters away from any paranormal creature, and now here was one sitting in his own home… well mobile home anyway. Dib was thankful he installed hidden cameras inside the camper weeks ago after a bigfoot broke in. _The park rangers claimed it was just a bear, but what bear knows how to use the microwave, huh??_ It took hours to clean up the mess made by that exploded frozen burrito.

The two of them stayed where they were for a moment before Dib finally broke the silence, “So… you’re an alien huh? That’s cool… I guess to you I’m the alien, though…” Zim just kept staring at the floor. “So uh… what’s your species like? Do you have a name…? Can you even understand me?” Zim shifted slightly in his seat and tried to speak but was met with the rasping again and grabbed his throat.

Dib saw him struggling to speak so he grabbed a nearby can of Xtra Sugary Poop Cola and handed it over to him. Zim eyed it suspiciously before snatching it from his hand and greedily gulping it down. He let out a relieved sigh from quenching his parched throat with the disgusting yet palatable drink and stared at the can as he finally spoke, “Zim...”

“Z- Zim?” Dib leaned in a bit, trying to hide his excitement from this momentous first-contact event. “Is that your name?”

Zim nodded.

“Okay Zim, my name is Dib, it’s great to meet you! I am a human, or scientifically Homo Sapiens, and this is Earth,” He gestured vaguely around him “er- the planet, not the camper. Where do you come from?”

Zim set the empty soda can on the table and huddled further into the blanket, pulling part of it over his head to cover his antennae. “Irk...”

“Irk?... So are your species called Irkenoids or...?”

Zim slumped all the way into the blanket, cocooning himself in the warmth. Dib could tell he wasn’t going to get much further like this and scratched his head, trying to think of ways to help Zim open up a bit more. Then he remembered something vitally important. “Wait here, I’ll be right back!”

He hastened out the side door and around to the back of the RV where the beat-up ship was strapped down to the pull-out trailer attachment. He peered into the broken glass of the ship and saw the little gray robot, happily waiting on the seat, playing with some scrap metal. Dib didn’t want him breaking any of his stuff so he had given Gir an old camera to keep the bot busy. _Well.. I wasn’t particularly fond of that one anyway._

Back in the RV, Zim flopped onto his side, half wallowing in his own self pity of being captured less than a day of landing on the planet and half finding a more comfortable position for said wallowing. He flinched and sat back up straight when Dib came bursting back in, holding Gir in his arms.

“Look! It’s your little robot friend!” Dib held him out as if he were holding a stuffed animal, Gir was surprisingly light considering he was made of metal. _Must be some kind of advanced space metal_ , Dib thought.

Gir smiled naively and waved at Zim, “Hiya master! I kept the ship warm with my head!”

Zim’s eyes widened and looked at Gir, then at Dib. “You… you kept my ship?”

Dib shrugged, “Well yeah. I’m not just gonna leave a hug discovery like a real alien spaceship out in the woods. This could be the thing that gets me recognized as the greatest paranormal investigator in the world!” Gir wiggled out of Dib’s grip and hopped over to the dinette, curling up on the spot next to Zim and immediately falling asleep.

“A what?” Zim was shocked by the implication that Dib would use his ship, and possibly himself, as a means of status promotion. However, he was even more baffled by the ridiculous sounding title, surely it couldn’t be as prestigious as being a Tallest. _Though he certainly could be tall enough to be a Tallest…_

Dib sat down across from Zim, “Yanno like, solving the world’s most mysterious mysteries! Bigfoot, mothman, man-eating bunnies that live in caves, vampire bees-”

Zim just glared at Dib as he continued to list obscure cryptids, _Obviously this world is full of insane people, but perhaps not completely useless…_ “And what would you do with such a pathetic title? You were simply lucky to encounter the mighty Zim,” He leaned back in his seat and gave Dib a smirk, “I hardly doubt you’d ever find another ‘mysterious creature’ again, at least not with your inferior Earth technology.”

“Oh yeah? I’ll have you know I’ve documented dozens of them, you’re just the first one I’ve captured-”

“Hah! Captured? Foolish human, the mighty Zim is simply here out of my own free will!” He lied. “I could leave any time I please.” More lies. Zim crossed his arms and smiled smugly. “I’ll have you know I am an elite irken soldier,” Was. “I trained my whole life in reconnaissance and could easily expose hundreds of these ‘cryptids’.” His point being... “Perhaps if you were to provide the brilliant Zim with refuge on this dirt planet, I may be willing to assist in your investigations...” There it is.

Dib looked like someone just handed him the answers to a pop quiz in exchange for a place to crash. Which Zim basically just did. Dib shook the dissbelief from his face before answering, “Wait, of course! You’re an alien with an interstellar spaceship! It’s obvious you’d have technology even more advanced than what we have.” He leaned in closer to Zim, making him shrink back slightly in alarm. “Just imagine the recognition I’d get from uncovering the truth about not just one paranormal creature, but thousands!” How’d it get from dozens to thousands...

“Naturally, even a young smeet could do it!” Zim quickly recomposed himself, “So, do we have a deal then?”

“On one condition,” Dib pointed at Zim, causing him to recoil, “You need to tell me everything about your species. Even if I can’t expose you, I can at least learn about you.”

Zim looked at Dib’s hand then back at him. He hated the thought of working alongside a smelly alien, but he hated the thought of what would become of him if that smelly alien revealed his identity to the rest of the smelly aliens… or if he were to return to Irk… This is the best case scenario. “Fine, you may ask one question per day about the vastly superior Irken species.” He waved his hand at Dib in dismissal.

Dib took Zim’s hand in his and shook it, “It’s a deal.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> bro... what if we were to exchange information about our planet and species... haha just kidding... unless?...
> 
> thanks again for reading! i'll try to work on updating a little more frequently, or at least post more doodles on my tumblr (anjevalart) or IZ amino (minteadoe)
> 
> cya o/

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading my first ever fic! I know the chapter is kinda short, but I really wanted to get something out before I explode from excitement ;w; Sorry if it reads weird in any spots, I was kinda sleepy while writing it. I'll see if I can finish chapter 2 by next week (but it'll prolly be the week after since next week is black friday and work's gonna be Helllll until next Saturday lol)


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